AirOuse by Ernesto Pereira
AirOuse steps lightly onto the riverbank in Vila do Conde, Portugal, a low-slung house by Ernesto Pereira that leans into air, water, and light. Across its long plan, the project contrasts a fully glazed social wing with a more cloistered private realm, using warm timber and stone to hold the two together. The result is a calm domestic landscape where daylight, reflections, and easy movement define everyday life.
A long stone roofline hovers above water and wild planting as the house stretches along the riverbank. Inside, pale floors, timber ceilings, and large panes of glass pull daylight deep into every room, catching reflections from the pool and river beyond.
This is a house in Vila do Conde, Portugal, designed by Ernesto Pereira as an airy, relaxed retreat for everyday living. The project sets out a clear contrast between a transparent social realm and a more cloistered private wing, letting light, material, and furniture define how each part feels. Interior palette and furnishing choices keep the architecture calm, so movement, views, and changing weather stay at the center of experience.
Framing Air And Water
Along the river side, full-height glazing slides away to fold the living rooms into the wide terrace and pool. A slim stone roof projects outward, its underside finished with narrow timber slats that draw the eye horizontally and shade the glass from high sun. The terrace is furnished with low loungers and a simple fire bowl, keeping the view to water and trees unobstructed while extending daily life outdoors. At dusk, interior light washes the soffit and reflects in the pool, turning the long elevation into a soft band above the dark water.
Timber As Everyday Texture
Inside, continuous wood surfaces give the house its quiet rhythm. Walls, ceilings, and built-in storage are wrapped in pale timber, with slatted boards overhead setting a subtle linear grain that runs from one room to the next. Upholstered pieces stay simple: a boucle sofa, molded dining chairs, and rounded stools sit against the warm background without visual noise. Light grazes along the boards, making material, not ornament, carry the character of the interior.
Rooms Around The Courtyard
A glazed courtyard cuts into the plan and gives several rooms direct views to planting and sky. From the hall, a long perspective runs past cabinetry and niches to framed scenes of greenery, so movement through the house feels guided by light rather than walls. Private rooms withdraw behind more solid timber surfaces, reinforcing the sense of shelter while still catching borrowed light from the courtyard garden. Social areas remain open and easy to cross, which suits gatherings that drift between kitchen, dining table, and terrace.
Living With Reflections
Stone flooring continues from interior to terrace, smoothing the threshold between inside and out without a hard visual break. The pool runs close to the glazed façade, so water becomes another surface in the palette, mirroring sky, soffit, and the glow of interior fixtures. From a quiet seat by the window, one line of sight tracks across courtyard planting, through the living room, and out to the river, tying private moments to the wider landscape. Everyday life stays grounded in simple acts—walking a timber-lined corridor, setting a table by the glass, watching light shift across the ceiling slats.
As day cools, the house settles back into its setting, the long roof and reflected soffit reading as one continuous line above water. Materials stay calm, and the measured arrangement of rooms keeps attention on air, light, and the nearby river that first shaped AirOuse.
Photography by João Morgado Photography
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